The Akwa Ibom State Government has listed the Ikono General Hospital as one of the standard health institutions providing health care for the people.
But an inspection of the facility, last Friday, showed that it did not qualify for a hospital.
Many people, it was learnt, would not allow their dead to be taken to the hospital’s morgue.
The hospital has been taken over by bush.
The expansive hospital premises have decayed, following its abandonment by the state government.
When the State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) visited the hospital at Ibiaku Ntok Okpo, the once beautifully equipped and functional hospital had become decrepit. There were cobwebs everywhere.
A hospital built to care for hundreds of patients was found to have only one patient. It was learnt that the patient was still on admission because she had no money for the bills she would pay at Ikot Ekpene General Hospital.
Although some of the workers declined to speak with reporters because they were not so authorised, our correspondent learnt that several letters on the sorry state of the hospital had been written to the government through the State Health Management Board. The management was said to have received no response from the government.
The decay has affected the seven departments in the hospital.
Almost all equipment are affected.
A senior worker, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is no power supply here; there are no toilets, no water, no workers. Doctors don’t live here. The place is now snake-infested. The quarters are not good. So, we cannot handle patients most of the times. We need total renovation here. Government officials came here sometime ago, talked with us, took pictures of the extent of decay and left.
“Ever since, nothing has been heard from them.”
It was learnt that whenever it rains, the water comes in from the theatre and other wards in the upper floors of the building. The roof of the hospital had broken down.
“We always pray that it does not rain because the whole place leaks,” a senior official told our correspondent.
The equipment in the theatre, laboratory, X-ray and every other department has been abandoned. The buildings have been covered by bushes.
A visit to the workers’ quarters, including the home of the resident doctor, was also abandoned.
Nobody was occupying the buildings because they had broken down and were in bushes. The few nurses and other workers appeared helpless.
The workers said they used torch lights in the night because of snakes.
Our correspondent saw a small Mantrac generator on the premises. It was said to have been donated by a public-spirited individual.
But the generator could only carry an infinitesimal percentage of the hospital. Its fuelling was another major issue.
It was learnt that drugs were often supplied but the nurse said they could not guarantee their efficacy because they were exposed to abnormal temperatures.
A nurse said the hospital was grossly understaffed, adding that there was just one security officer, who would retire soon.
There were two casual workers and two cleaners who ensured the hygiene of the expansive facility.
On revenue generation and the state of the hospital, a worker said the hospital was making about N100,000 a month.
During the correspondents’ visit to his palace, the paramount ruler of Ikono, Edidem Nyong Obop, said: “We are not happy about the situation. The hospital is dilapidated. I won’t criticise the government because it has done so much for Ikono residents, including the dilapidated hospital. The best thing to do is to go there and see things for yourselves.”
